Feliway Diffuser

A Feliway Diffuser – Is It The Answer To Your Cat's Unwanted Behavior?

You
will have noticed your cat rubbing the side of her face against the
legs of chairs, on furniture, on door frames, etc.

Maybe she rubs her
cheeks against you when you pick her up to give her a cuddle.

When she does this she leaves a trace of a chemical substance called a pheromone.

This
particular pheromone signifies a state of security and calmness.

It's
presence tells a cat that she has nothing to be anxious about.

Commercial chemists have been able to produce a synthetic copy of this feline facial pheromone, it is marketed as Feliway.

Available
in both a spray and a plug-in diffuser, this synthetic pheromone is
said to help calm stressed cats and help end unwanted behavior.

How Soon Does A Feliway Diffuser Bring A Cat's Behavior Under Control?

Sadly a Feliway diffuser does not work instant miracles. Generally it has to be used for one to two months, or maybe even a little longer to have an influence on a cat's behavior.

There have been a few reports of success in as little as a week, but
these are rare. In these cases, it could be that the cat was only mildly
stressed.

Sometimes it's use is a permanent thing, the diffuser
works and the cat is calmer, but as soon as the diffuser is taken away,
the cat reverts back to it's undesirable behavior. This is because the
root cause of the problem has not been solved.

Is it guaranteed
to work? Unfortunately not. For one thing not all cats respond to the
pheromone, most do - but it seems there is a small minority of cats,
around 15%, that it has no effect upon, nothing, zilch.

Is there any difference in the Feliway in the spray and the Feliway in the diffuser?

The
Feliway in the diffuser is held in oil. The Feliway in the spray is
held in ethyl alcohol. The pheromone in both is exactly the same. So, no
there is no important difference.

There is a difference though in the way they are used. You use the
spray directly on surfaces that your cat has peed or sprayed on. It's a
quick hit.

The Feliway diffuser works in the background. Use one in each of the areas of your home where you have a problem.

The
pheromone in both the spray and diffuser is harmless. However as the
spray also contains alcohol you should never spray it on your cat. Take
care when using it that it never gets in the eyes of any pet or human.

If you are going to use the spray on wood, fabric, leather etc. test a small out of sight area first.

Avoid
plugging the Feliway diffuser in an outlet that is under furniture or
under a shelf. A vapor from the oil that holds the pheromone will rise
when the plug-in heats up, anything above the plug-in will prevent the
pheromone from circulating properly.

You may also want to avoid using
outlets next to doors that might restrict the circulation if left open.

Be careful that you plug it in right side up.

Can Feliway Help With Litter Box Problems?

If your cat is peeing somewhere other than her litter box a Feliway
diffuser may help. But . . . you really owe it to yourself and your cat,
to try and find and eliminate the cause.

If your cat has been happily using her litter box for years and suddenly starts peeing outside of it, there will be a reason for it.

Could it be a medical reason? Ask you vet to check everything is alright.

Is something causing your Cat Stress? You've
rearranged the furniture, redecorated, a strange cat is claiming your
garden as her territory, or a family member left home.

There are a
thousand and one things that can stress out a cat and therefore cause
her to go outside the box. Often it is something that may seem quite
trivial to a human.

You will see the Feliway diffuser and spray marketed as “Feliway” or
“Comfort Zone with Feliway.” Same product, slightly different name.

If you can possibly correct whatever it is that is upsetting your cat, you may not need to use the diffuser.

Of
course some changes you can do nothing about, if someone has left home
they could not be expected to return because your cat is upset. But if
you have moved the sofa from one side of the room to the other, you may
want to find out if moving it back ends your Cat's Behavior Problems.

Have
you relocated her litter box? Has the litter box got old? With time
plastic starts to absorb odor, your cat will not use a smelly box. Have
you started to use a different brand of litter?

The Feliway Diffuser And The Aggressive Cat

Has your cat suddenly started exhibiting aggressive behavior?

Once
again, the reason could be a medical one or because of an injury. Not
all injuries are obvious and a cat in pain may become hostile towards
you, other family members or your other pets.

If
your cat is aggressive towards you, perhaps biting or scratching you,
it may not be you that is causing the stress.

Something else, such as
seeing a neighboring cat outside the window, may make your cat anxious,
but she can't get to that cat so the aggression is turned against you.
This is known as misdirected aggression.

In a multi-cat home a hierarchy will have been established between
the cats. If something happens to upset this pecking order, perhaps the
alpha cat is challenged, then you could see plenty of aggression from
one, or more, of the cats.

A Feliway diffuser could certainly help with aggressive cats or Fighting Cats. In all probability you will need enough diffusers to cover the areas of your home that your cats use.

Calming The Spraying Cat

”I'm behaving nicely because I'm not stressed. Could that be because of the Feliway diffuser?

Spraying is one of the methods cats use to mark out their territory.

An unaltered male cat is the most likely to spray, but neutered males
can do it too.

Female cats in season will sometimes spray to attract
Tomcats.

Humans are not usually upset that much by cats spraying outdoors. Indoor spraying is a different matter – because the sprayed urine stinks.

The
cat will turn his back to a vertical surface. His paws will probably be
treading the ground and his tail will be up and quivering. He will then
spray a stream of concentrated urine to mark the vertical surface.

This urine marking tells other cats the territory is his, it's a strong message to keep away.

One reason a cat could be spraying inside the home is, and here comes that word again - - stress.

If your cat feels that his position is threatened one outcome is that
he could start spraying around your home. Again, the threat should be
identified and if possible removed. Getting your cat fixed (Spayed or Neutered ) will greatly reduce the chances of this problem occurring.

You will need to use both the Feliway spray and Feliway diffuser to tackle the spraying.

Use the diffuser to release the pheromones around your home. Use the
spray on the areas that you cat has sprayed upon. But before you do that
they will need to be thoroughly cleaned to remove all traces of urine.

The Feliway Diffuser And The Scratching Cat

If your cat normally uses her Scratching Post,
but for some reason has started acting out of character and is
scratching somewhere she shouldn't be scratching, you will have to try
and detect the reason. (If your cat does not have a scratching post, she
should have, particularly if she is an indoor cat.

It's sort of
compulsory, unless you like your furnishings all scratched up.)

There
are reasons that cats scratch. Firstly, doing so helps to remove the
old outer husks from their nails, the new nice and sharp nails will then
show through.

Secondly, scratching is good exercise.

Thirdly, cats have
scent glands in their paws and scratching helps them to mark their
territory, much in the same way spraying does.

If kitty has a post and has been trained to use it, then it is likely that she is scratching for the third reason.

Why
is it suddenly so important for her to mark her territory?

By now this
must be starting to sound familiar. She is scratch marking because
something is making her anxious.

If you can find and eliminate the cause of her anxiety . . .

In
the meantime, use the Feliway Comfort Zone diffuser in the background
and use the spray on the areas that she is scratching.

As you
have read, very often when a cat 'ain't behaving' it's a stress symptom.
However, have your vet check that the behavior isn't being caused by a
medical reason.

If you suspect the problem is indeed stress then a
Feliway diffuser, used as per the products instructions, will likely
help.